Accepting the Best Picture Drama award at the Golden Globes Sunday night, Moonlight director Barry Jenkins had one very simple message to those who have seen and loved his film: "Please tell a friend, tell a friend, tell a friend." But is Moonlight still in theaters, so anyone who's missed out can go watch? Well, as someone who has seen and loved Moonlight, I'm happy to tell my friends that yes, Moonlight is still in theaters, and you should go see it right now.
As an independent film, Moonlight hasn't enjoyed the same kind of highly publicized, wide release of many of its peers. Following it's premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in September, Moonlight made the festival rounds for almost two months before finally being released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 21. Since then, the film has been enjoying a very slow wide release, officially opening everywhere on Nov. 18, and will start to make its way to foreign markets in the coming months. If you're looking to see Moonlight in a theater near you, you can check availability on the film's official site here.
Moonlight is currently mostly playing in bigger cities across the country, but I'd expect the film's Golden Globe win and its upcoming Oscar campaign to warrant a wider release from distributor A24. As of Sunday, Jan. 8, Moonlight was playing in 135 theaters across the country according to Deadline (which, for reference, is about one tenth as many theaters as award competitors Manchester By The Sea and La La Land), but I wouldn't be surprised to see that number to grow in coming weeks. When the movie had its wide release, it was playing in an estimated 650 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. That number is about half of the over 1,000 screens playing La La Land today.
In light of La La Land's massive success at the Golden Globes, it's clear that the film is going to be campaigning hard at the Academy Awards. The fact that it's in more theaters than Moonlight only guarantees it more buzz. That said, despite the fact that Moonlight may have only picked up one Golden Globe out of six nominations (Mahershala Ali was the biggest snub of the night, IMO), the film is still heading straight towards the Oscars. A last minute theater push could be just what the film needs to win big at the Academy Awards. More importantly, a wider release for Moonlight will mean more people can see one of the only movies released worth spending money on.
Go see Moonlight while you can, you won't regret it.
